Growing up, and even up to just recently, I was always told the same thing. My dad is black and my mother is Native American. It was driven into my brain, and it became who I was. I mean, who else was I supposed to be besides what I was told I was from the get go. I trusted who told me this. So, I went with it. Anytime anyone asked what I was, because of my curly hair or my skin complexion, I would tell them, “Native American and black.” It became natural, and the words just flowed out of my mouth.

After a while I began to question what I had been told, because things were just not adding up. There was no mixing up the fact that my dad was black. I knew his entire family. The question was, was I really Native American? I would look at my mother, I would look at her siblings, I would look at her mother, and things just seemed off. I never met my grandfather, but everything I was told led me to believe, that just like everyone else, he was Native American.

There was even a point in time when I thought I could have been Hispanic instead. Everyone and their mother thought I was, and there were a few features that made it appeared that way. If that was the case though, my father wouldn’t be my father, and there was no way on earth my mother was Hispanic. Whatever the case may be, things just weren’t adding up.

Questions after questions were filled with what seemed like lies after lies. So, finally after being fed up with the same answers, I took matters into my own hands. I did my research, and I found a company to do some digging for me. I went through 23 and Me. Not only did I find out what I really was, but I also found out if I would pass any genetic disorders I would pass on if I were to have any kids and some where some of my traits came from. My ancestry composition went exactly like this:

European – 48.9%

Northwestern European – 41.8%

British & Irish – 19.7%

French & German – 2.1%

Scandinavian – 1.9%

Broadly Northwestern European – 18.1%

Southern European – 3.5%

Iberian – 1.6%

Broadly Southern European – 1.9%

Broadly European – 3.5%

Sub-Saharan African – 41.8%

West African – 37.8%

Central & South African – 1.6%

Broadly Sub-Saharan African – 2.4%

East Asian & Native American – 8%

Native American – 3.6%

East Asian – .9%

Yakut – .2%

Mongolian – .1%

Broadly East Asian – .6%

South Asian – .5%

Broadly East Asian & Native American – 3%

Middle Eastern & North African – .2%

North African – .1%

Broadly Middle Eastern & North African – .1%

South Asian – .1%

Broadly South Asian – .1%

Unassigned – 1.1%

So, yeah, the Native American was there, but not exactly what I was expecting. Not what I was expecting at all. I was told one thing, and as it turns out, it was all almost the complete opposite. Looking at the break down, it is safe to say that I am black and white with a little extra thrown in the mix. Kind of like a panda, which is ok with me because pandas are my favorite.

That was a little off topic, but of the point of the matter is I know who I am. Well, I knew who I was before this, because I am the same person. I meant I knew what my make up was. It is a shame that it took so long for me to find out the truth. It is a shame that I had to jump through so many hoops and lies to find the truth. It is a shame that the truth was fought with fire at first when it was presented to the ones that told me otherwise.

I now know who I am, and I know more about my genetics. This isn’t an advertisement, but I would highly recommend doing this for yourself if you are unsure. It doesn’t have to be through 23 and Me, there are other good companies out there. Do something for yourself though. Clear up the air, and know who you are.